I. Technical Field
Embodiments disclosed herein relate generally to sensor devices, and, more particularly, to an ambient light sensor.
II. Background Discussion
Many electronic devices such as desktop computers, notebook computers, personal digital assistants, cell phones, and so on, include integrated light sensors configured to sense ambient light. Typically, such light sensors convert the received light into either current or voltage that may be processed by the electronic device to determine the amount of light surrounding the device. The electronic device may then control the operation of one or more components based on the sensed amount of light. As an example, laptops often include a controller that dims or brightens the laptop display screen according to a detected brightness, as measured by a light sensor.
Existing ambient light sensor devices may be complicated analog or digital circuits that require significant hardware for their implementation. For example, an analog light sensor circuit may include a silicon detector that is amplified by a circuit and converted by an analog-to-digital converter to a digital value. Digital light sensor circuits typically include a voltage-to-frequency (V/F) converter, a counter, and additional digital logic for converting the output of the light sensor for processing by the electronic device. These sensors are often complex and may be expensive to manufacture, as well as require significant power for their operation.
What is needed is a way to sense light, by an electronic device that utilizes cost-efficient hardware and software, while conserving power.